


Farewells

by Lusieluz



Category: Red Dead Redemption (Video Games)
Genre: Angst, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Fluff and Angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-14
Updated: 2019-10-14
Packaged: 2020-12-16 10:21:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,436
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21034685
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lusieluz/pseuds/Lusieluz
Summary: As Arthur awaits his death with reader by his side, reader finds out another thing about him that she hadn't expected





	Farewells

Rage, fear, nausea and desperation washed over you as you tried to reach the edge of the mountain. It hadn’t been long since you had found Arthur’s horse dead on the ground, body already cold. The sight had made you tremble and it had been hard to fall back into a sprint, too tired and frightened from the previous run.

You slipped on the stony path up the mountain, gliding back down a few meters and getting a cut in your palm. It was still dark, you could barely see in front of you.  It was some time left before sunrise, birds had started chirping in the surrounding trees and wildlife made it out of their hideouts. However, the sound was almost drawn out by the throbbing echoes of your heart in your head.

Clenching your hand, you climbed up the last bit of the path, trying to still the fear gnawing away at you.  However, when you saw him, grief and pain and anger washed over you all at once, making your knees weak.

Arthur was badly beaten, taking ragged breaths as he crawled painfully towards the ledge of the cliff.

‘’Arthur!’’ you whispered, barely able to push out the words. You stumbled towards him.

His green eyes displayed a show of emotions when he saw you. He accepted your arms around him, helping him turn on his back. He groaned in pain and you took his hand, his breathing harsh and uneven and your whole body shaking.

‘’It’ll be fine, Arthur,’’ you said, a huge lump in your throat and tears threatening to spill over. His hand felt limp in yours.

‘’No,’’ he breathed out. His eyelids looked heavy and if it hadn’t been for the blood on his face, it might’ve looked like he was just tired, about to fall asleep.

‘’It will, just hang on.’’ You roamed over his body with your hand, no idea what to do or how to help him. ‘’Please, stay with me, Arthur.’’

‘’Y/n,’’ he mumbled and you took his hand again, ignoring your hurt hand that was bleeding behind your back. Your eyes met and you swallowed a sob. There was so much sadness in his eyes, barely visible through your tears. Sunlight started shining on his forehead, the night faded away to give place for the morning as the sun started rising.

‘’I wish I could’ve given you better.’’ Arthur inhaled deeply after he spoke, strained from uttering the words. You dried away your tears and hushed him.

‘’You gave me more than I could have ever dreamt of, Arthur,’’ you answered, quickly thinking back at your time with Arthur.

You had lost so much over the past four years you had been with the gang, and yet gained more than you could imagine.  He tried coughing and failed, trying to draw another breath instead.

‘’I love you, y/n,’’ he said and looked deep into your eyes, meaning every word he said, before turning his head towards the sun.

‘’I love you too, Arthur,’’ you sobbed and took his hand closer to your chest, kissing the tips of his fingers.

The sunlight had reached higher up, bathing both of you in its early golden shine. Tears streamed down your cheeks as you watched your loved one take another strained breath.  He exhaled again, took in more air, and let out one final, drawn out but calm breath.  His chest that had been heaving violently together with his breathing now stilled.

‘’Arthur?’’ you tried, a part of you still clinging to a last bit of hope. The last bit of hope you had, together with dreams of you and Arthur having a future together. When he didn’t stir, that little hope was slowly crushed as sobs started shaking your body.

You let go of Arthur’s limp hand and let out a wail, pain so clear and hot in your heart that it felt like it would break any second. You shook violently, trying to muffle your cries and screams into your hands, not caring that the salty tears stinged on your wound, not caring about the blood getting smeared on your face.

  
  


As the sun rose, your crying grew quieter, more in control. You sniffed and dried away your tears with your sleeves. At last, you started hearing your surroundings again; the birds still chirped, the wind played in the leaves of the trees.  Arthur’s face was turned towards the sun. _At least he got to watch one last sunrise_, you thought bitterly.

It was in that moment you saw it; an animal amongst the trees below the mountains had caught your attention. You crawled closer to the edge to try and see what it was.

The stag turned its head to you. You met its eyes, big and dark and beautiful. He held his head high, not letting go of your eyes. The thought that came over you was that he looked proud.  After a few seconds, he turned away from you, walking back into the forest. You followed the animal as far as your sight would go, until the sun blinded you.

You sighed, not being able to stop the thought about how Arthur would have loved to witness what you just had, and be able to sketch it down in his notebook.  Your breath shook before you crawled back to Arthur and started ravaging through his bags. You pulled out the notebook and a pencil, eager to try and scribble down the stag from memory before it became too unclear.

‘’Come on,’’ you mumbled as you tried finding an empty page.

You stopped abruptly, eyes wide as you grazed the page gently with your fingers. From the paper, a drawing of you looked back up at you, beautiful details displaying your happy eyes and laughing smile. In the background was the sea.

On that day, you had been dressed in a simple lavender colored dress. On that day, Arthur had taken you with him for a trip, leaving the heat of Clemens Point behind. On that day, he had given you a ring, made out of silver and a small purple stone in the middle. On that day, you had said yes, promising him a life together as soon as you and the gang had managed to escape.

With new tears rising in your eyes, you flipped the page.  Another drawing of you; you were facing away from Arthur at Shady Belle, carrying a bucket but looking over your shoulder to flash a smile at him. Beneath the picture was a text.

_ ‘ ’She never believes me when I tell her she’s beautiful. I wish she could see the angel I see when I look at her.’’  _ You sobbed and inhaled a shaky breath before flipping to another page.  Another drawing of you, this time with Jack; you were sitting and playing with him beneath a tree. Another text.

_ ‘’My darling’s too pure for this world. Wish I could take her away, somewhere safe where she don’t have to worry.’’  _ A tear trailed down your cheek, followed by another one. You could barely read.

_ ‘’She’s a fool sometimes,’’ _ you chuckled a little as you managed to read his writing on the next page.  _ ‘’but I would die to keep this fool safe.’’ _

It started getting harder to breathe, the ache in your heart was back. You skimmed through the pages, more desperate to find a blank one. You did, but only one of the pages were blank. The other one resembled a picture of your ring.

_ ‘’You have made me the happiest man alive. I will always love you, y/n.’’ _

You shook once more, trying your hardest to ignore the pain in your heart, the overwhelming sadness and desperation and loneliness. You looked down on the hand holding the pencil; the ring was still there, fitting perfectly around your finger. Your other hand had stopped bleeding a little, but was stinging and pulsating furiously.

You looked up at Arthur. For a second, you managed to pretend that he was just sleeping, that he would wake up soon to the sunlight on his face, walk over to you and plant a kiss on your cheek, wish you a good morning with a tired yet genuine smile. He still looked beautiful despite his badly beaten figure, eyes closed and a calm expression on his face.

You smiled sadly and started to sketch the stag from memory, hoping that wherever Arthur were, he would see the new picture in his notebook.

_ ‘’For you, my love,’’ _ you wrote beneath the drawing before closing the book.

**Author's Note:**

> This was quite hard to write, as it made me very sad due to own personal losses. I hope you like it though! Kudos and comments are very much appreciated :)
> 
> Find me on tumblr as well! @cowboys-and-cowgirls


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